The Department of Homeland Security sharply increased contract spending during the first year of President Donald Trump's second term, butting heads with Democrats.
DHS poured billions into border enforcement, deportation efforts, and surveillance technology amid an escalating standoff in Congress over DHS funding, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis published Tuesday.
DHS contract spending jumped 35% in 2025, driven largely by Trump's mass-deportation agenda.
Customs and Border Protection spending nearly tripled from a year earlier to about $15 billion, while Immigration and Customs Enforcement awarded $5.1 billion in contracts since Jan. 20, 2025, a 63% increase, the Journal found.
Nearly every other DHS agency reduced spending, but the top 100 contracts accounted for roughly 60% of DHS' total contract outlays last year and could exceed $44 billion by the end of Trump's second term. The top 50 contractors alone stand to receive nearly $24 billion.
Major beneficiaries include construction firm Fisher Sand & Gravel, which received more than $6 billion to build and maintain border wall segments, as well as private prison operators CoreCivic and GEO Group and deportation airline CSI Aviation, which together have received nearly $2 billion during Trump's second term.
Defense and data firms tied to immigration enforcement also saw major gains. Anduril Industries secured $511 million for autonomous border surveillance towers, while Palantir received more than $81 million to develop immigration enforcement tools, including mapping software to identify where migrants may live and work.
The Journal noted that executives at top DHS contractors donated nearly $3 million to support Trump's reelection campaign, while DHS spending also included nearly $200 million on advertising to recruit agents and encourage illegal immigrants to self-deport, as well as at least $175 million on weapons and protective gear for agents.
The surge in spending comes as Congress remains deadlocked over DHS' 2026 budget following recent fatal shootings involving federal immigration agents in Minneapolis.
DHS declined to comment on the analysis, according to the Journal.
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